PTS Reader Kayla sent us this reader success story and she didn’t even go on it! But she helped her parents plan their amazing trip to Amsterdam and Iceland. Here is her story:
Thanks to the Points Talk Squad, I have taken many amazing trips on points and made several wonderful memories along the way! Some include Hawaii, Mexico, Boston, and later this year will be Italy! However, a points redemption that made my heart swell is one that I never went on!
After taking many trips with points and miles, I finally convinced my parents to give it a try. They were very wary about it, concerned about their credit scores mostly. I asked them where in the world they have always wanted to go. My mom said everywhere, so that was very easy to work with. My dad said he has always wanted to go to Iceland and see the volcanos and the northern lights. Iceland it was! Over the next few months, I guided them on cards to open to help them achieve their goal.
Flights
One day in late 2023, I got an alert that there were business class seats from Amsterdam to Montreal for only 35,000 miles with Flying Blue! I immediately called my dad and told him that an incredible opportunity came up and that we should book it! Before the end of the day, he had transferred some American Express Membership Rewards® to Flying Blue and had flights home from Amsterdam! The next trick was getting to Amsterdam from Iceland, as well as getting to Iceland in the first place!
I was on the hunt. Pretty quickly I found an itinerary that worked very well with the flight from Amsterdam to Montreal we just booked! I was able to find flights from SLC to Reykjavik on American Airlines in business class for only 55,500 points per person and about $55 in taxes per person! The cash price for this flight was at $11,000 per person!! At this time, my dad only had enough points to book one of them. However, I had enough points that I could book it. We booked my dad’s flight using his miles and I booked my mom’s flight using my miles! I felt so honored that I could gift her a business-class flight to an incredible destination and not break the bank! And now we had flights to Iceland!
Kayla’s parents getting ready to fly business class!
As for flights from Iceland to Amsterdam, my dad paid cash for premium economy seats on SAS airlines!
Lodging
My dad had opened a
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, but he was short about 20,000 points to finish his booking at
Hotel Ranga. Again, I had points and wanted my parents to have an incredible experience. So using the Hyatt points-transfer form, I transferred 20,000 of my Hyatt points to them for their stay! Hotel Ranga is a Small Luxury Hotel (SLH) that used to be partnered with Hyatt.
Good news is that it can still be booked on points, only now with Hilton points! They stayed three nights and paid a total of 80,000 Hyatt points! They loved it! They said it felt like a cabin and the service was incredible! They also loved being able to go out to the hot tub at night and see the northern lights! (They went in early April.)
Hotel Range standard room.
Because Hotel Ranga is about two hours away from the airport, they spent their last full day in Reykjavik. They loved spending time at the Blue Lagoon, which had opened up just days before they got there because of recent volcanic activity! They spent their last night at
Hilton Reykjavik Nordica (which they said was a great location) and they loved not having to get up too early the next day for their flight to Amsterdam!
Amsterdam
Next up was Amsterdam! We got them an adorable Airbnb that was just about two blocks from the Anne Frank house, right along the canal! They LOVED their Airbnb! They did say that they made the mistake of walking from the train station to their Airbnb, which was only about a half mile, but with their big luggage and the cobblestone streets, they wished they had gotten a taxi! They did not make that same mistake going back to the airport. I had my dad open a Capital One Venture X, and we used his points to
erase the charge of the Airbnb. Yet another incredible stay for $0!
A beautiful day in Keukenhof!
While in Amsterdam, they got to enjoy the incredible tulip festival, do a Zaanse Schans Windmills tour, visit the Anne Frank house, and enjoy a sunset canal cruise! My mom said she was living her best main character life. After a three-night stay in Amsterdam, they caught their awesome flight from Amsterdam to Montreal. They stayed the night at the
Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel, which my dad booked in the Capital One portal, using his remaining miles to cover the charge. Using his Chase Ultimate Rewards®, he booked a flight from Montreal to SLC in business class on United Airlines for 50,000 points per person!
Bottom Line
Overall, this trip was worth well over $30,000. They flew in style and comfort and had amazing hotel/Airbnb stays! But at the end of the day, they only paid about $1,500! This was a huge points and miles moment for me because I was able to help them learn how to travel for almost free, as well as gift them parts of their incredible vacation! I can always earn those miles back. My parents have done so much for me, I was so happy to help them have an amazing time for so little money!
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